“Perhaps the Kochs’ most surprising and important ally on the committee is its new chairman, Rep. Fred Upton. The Republican from Michigan, who was once criticized by conservatives for his middle-of-the-road approach to environmental issues, is now leading the effort to rein in the EPA.

“Upton received $20,000 in donations from Koch employees in 2010, making them among his top 10 donors in that cycle, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.

“In recent months the congressman has made a point of publicly aligning himself with the Koch-backed advocacy group, calling for an end to the ‘EPA chokehold.'”

“In the past, Upton — the incoming chair of the House energy and commerce committee — has advocated taking action on global warming. ‘I strongly believe that everything must be on the table as we seek to reduce carbon emissions,’ he once stated on his website. But that statement recently vanished from his site — along with, it seems, his concern about global warming.”

Upton: “So let’s dispel a myth: air quality and public health will not be harmed or affected in any way by efforts to slow and then stop EPA’s expansive global warming agenda under the Clean Air Act. . . . . So we can stop the EPA from imposing cap and tax and the Clean Air Act will continue to make our families and communities healthier places. So let’s listen to the facts: this issue is not about air quality and public health, it’s about jobs.”

Another way the fossil fuel industry should view is pay up now or pay more later. If they successfully lobby for a carbon tax to cover the externalities they’ll have a better case against future liability.

?So let this be clear: There is no scientific controversy over this. Climate change denial is purely, 100 percent made-up political and corporate-sponsored crap. When the loudest voices are fossil-fuel funded think tanks, when they don’t publish in journals but instead write error-laden op-eds in partisan venues, when they have to manipulate the data to support their point, then what they’re doing isn’t science.

It’s nonsense. And worse, it’s dangerous nonsense. Because they’re fiddling with the data while the world burns.